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(Mostly) Dialect Meme
Apr. 3rd, 2008 12:32 pmI'm an East Anglian with West Midlands relatives who lives in Yorkshire, and my vocabulary tends to vary. Most of these questions seem to be more suited to North American usage (and some reflect class rather than region) - I'll put in more questions as I think of them.
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Assuming it means naturally flowing water rather than e.g. field drains, the general case is 'a stream' but I use 'beck' most of the time in Northern England.
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
Supermarket, not grocery store: a shopping trolley.
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
A plastic container would be a lunchbox. I don't think I've ever used a metal one.
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
Frying pan.
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Settee when I was growing up, now more likely to be sofa.
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
Guttering (horizontal), then drainpipe (vertical).
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
If I had one, it would probably be a veranda. As I haven't, the uncovered area where people sit in the evening during the two weeks a year when it's warm enough and not raining is the patio.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Fizzy drinks.
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Does not exist. Flat round things served with syrup are pancakes; flat round things served at breakfast means that some poncy person's been mucking about with the toast.
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Baguette.
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
Swimming trunks, or swim shorts if they're definitely shorts.
12. Shoes worn for sports.
Trainers, unless they're a particular type, e.g. plimsolls, football boots, etc.
13. Putting a room in order.
Tidying up.
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
Do glow-worms fly? If not, then firefly. Neither are words I need to use very often.
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
Woodlouse.
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
Seesaw
17. How do you eat your pizza? (Not exactly dialect!)
Depends on local manners. At home, cut into wedges with a wheel and picked up with fingers.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
Odd. If at an organised event, a car boot sale, jumble sale, or bring and buy sale.
19. What's the evening meal?
The main meal of the day is called dinner, whenever it occurs. If dinner happens in the evening, the other meal is lunch; if dinner happens at midday, the other meal is tea.
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are.
If there's a floor below the ground floor and it's not a cellar (i.e. used primarily for storage), it's a basement. My associations are 'bargain basement', followed by 'basement flat', not furnaces and rec rooms.
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places.
Drinking fountain
(Added)
22. A narrow, paved or cobbled access way between or behind terraced houses.
Passageway, or access lane if it's wider than one person with arms outstretched.
23. An enclosed paved footpath leading between streets, not belonging to a particular set of houses.
A snickleway if in York, a lane otherwise.
(Note to Northerners: I do know the word 'ginnel', but don't tend to use it, even when I'm in Leeds and points West. I'm only slightly more likely to use 'snicket'.)
24. A farm building to keep e.g. cows in.
A barn.
25. Bread baked into a small round, suitable for one person.
Roll, bread bun. (But I understand bread cake, barm cake etc.)
26. A bit behind schedule.
On the drag, running late.
ETA:
27. Do you pronounce 'scone' with a long 'o', a short 'o', or something else?
A long 'o'.
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drasecretcampus)28. The process of making tea (the drink).
Making a cup/pot of tea, putting a pot of tea on, brewing tea (usually 'the tea's brewing', rather than 'I'm brewing tea').
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
Assuming it means naturally flowing water rather than e.g. field drains, the general case is 'a stream' but I use 'beck' most of the time in Northern England.
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
Supermarket, not grocery store: a shopping trolley.
3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
A plastic container would be a lunchbox. I don't think I've ever used a metal one.
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
Frying pan.
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Settee when I was growing up, now more likely to be sofa.
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
Guttering (horizontal), then drainpipe (vertical).
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
If I had one, it would probably be a veranda. As I haven't, the uncovered area where people sit in the evening during the two weeks a year when it's warm enough and not raining is the patio.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Fizzy drinks.
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Does not exist. Flat round things served with syrup are pancakes; flat round things served at breakfast means that some poncy person's been mucking about with the toast.
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Baguette.
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
Swimming trunks, or swim shorts if they're definitely shorts.
12. Shoes worn for sports.
Trainers, unless they're a particular type, e.g. plimsolls, football boots, etc.
13. Putting a room in order.
Tidying up.
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
Do glow-worms fly? If not, then firefly. Neither are words I need to use very often.
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
Woodlouse.
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
Seesaw
17. How do you eat your pizza? (Not exactly dialect!)
Depends on local manners. At home, cut into wedges with a wheel and picked up with fingers.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
Odd. If at an organised event, a car boot sale, jumble sale, or bring and buy sale.
19. What's the evening meal?
The main meal of the day is called dinner, whenever it occurs. If dinner happens in the evening, the other meal is lunch; if dinner happens at midday, the other meal is tea.
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are.
If there's a floor below the ground floor and it's not a cellar (i.e. used primarily for storage), it's a basement. My associations are 'bargain basement', followed by 'basement flat', not furnaces and rec rooms.
21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places.
Drinking fountain
(Added)
22. A narrow, paved or cobbled access way between or behind terraced houses.
Passageway, or access lane if it's wider than one person with arms outstretched.
23. An enclosed paved footpath leading between streets, not belonging to a particular set of houses.
A snickleway if in York, a lane otherwise.
(Note to Northerners: I do know the word 'ginnel', but don't tend to use it, even when I'm in Leeds and points West. I'm only slightly more likely to use 'snicket'.)
24. A farm building to keep e.g. cows in.
A barn.
25. Bread baked into a small round, suitable for one person.
Roll, bread bun. (But I understand bread cake, barm cake etc.)
26. A bit behind schedule.
On the drag, running late.
ETA:
27. Do you pronounce 'scone' with a long 'o', a short 'o', or something else?
A long 'o'.
(from
drasecretcampus)28. The process of making tea (the drink).Making a cup/pot of tea, putting a pot of tea on, brewing tea (usually 'the tea's brewing', rather than 'I'm brewing tea').
